Display package



March 21, 1939. T. s. DOWST DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed June 12, 1936 2, l lllllli lllm i I n INVENTOR T/rmdarr 67.30145? ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED S'i'ATES EPATENT OFFICE Application June 12,

Claims.

This invention relates to a functionally and structurally improved package or method of packaging and by means of which articles will be attractively displayed and mounted against probability of damage or soiling.

It is an object of the invention to furnish a package for merchandise and by means of which the article or articles embraced within such package will be suspended in what might be termed a shock-proof mounting. Consequently, the danger of breakage will be reduced'materially if not entirely overcome.

A further object is that of furnishing a package or mounting by means of which the merchandise may be eifectively displayed, aside from the fact that such merchandise will be adequately protected against soiling.

An additional object is that of furnishing a package in which the merchandise will be supported in such manner that practically no danger will exist of the articles comprising such merchandise becoming accidentally detached from the mounting. It is, however, contemplated by the present invention that such articles may readily be detached from the mounting when it is desired to do so.

Still another object is that of providing a package embodying any or all of the advantages afore enumerated, and which will have the additional characteristics of being formed largely by automatic machinery; such package, together with the merchandise to be mounted thereby, being capable of ready assemblage, so that the manufacturer utilizing the same will be subject to only minimum expense.

With these and other objects in. mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view of a package;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof taken along the lines 22 and in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 illustrates the mounting panel forming a part of this package;

Fig. l is a fragmentary enlarged sectional View showing portion of this panel and with one of the articles of merchandise positioned adjacent thereto; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the article in final position and with a supplemental enclosing sheet in association therewith.

In these views the numeral Hi indicates a container which maybe rectangular and which is provided with a lid or cover l I. Positioned within 1936, Serial No. 84,788

this container is a partition member including in the present instance a deck portion l2 and side flanges l3 which may lie in contact with the corresponding surfaces of the container and to which they may be secured, if so desired. The deck may be provided with any desirable number of openings M, corresponding in outline to the contour of the articles IE to be mounted thereby. Each of these openings, however, has its edge portion extended at any suitable number of points to provide tongue portions l6. Thus, these tongue portions extend into the area of plane of the article l5.

It follows that the articles may be disposed within the openings, and certain of them (those which, for example, have their axes extending parallel to the partition member) will be retained against movement towards either the lid or the base of the receptacles. In any event, however, each of these articles will, incident to the extended tongue portion l6, be prevented from moving in at least one direction (for example, towards the base).

As illustrated, the package is to be employed in a housing, and displays a set of childs dishes. While this is a preferred embodiment, it is apparent that different articles might be housed and displayed. If, as illustrated, a set of dishes is to be packaged, then the partition member may be slitted as at IE to provide a series of parallel strips extending adjacent each other. The strips I! may serve in aggregate to provide receiving and retaining portions for elements l8, simulating in appearance, for example, knives, spoons and forks.

Now with a view to preventing accidental detachment of the articles l5 from the partition member and to display such articles, it is proposed to employ a sheet of transparent material such as is commonly known as Cellophane. This sheet has been indicated at l9, and it is obvious that in lieu of the particular material specified, any other suitable sheet might be employed which would, for example, merely have translucent qualities. The sheet extends through the openings H!- and beyond the outer faces of the articles l5. Thus, the articles are retained from outward movement by the sheet, and from inward movement by the tongue portions Hi. In each instance, the outer faces of these elements or articles are covered by the sheet, so that they are displayed in an extremely attractive manner.

In utilizing this apparatus, and as shown especially in Fig. 4, the operator will place a sheet of material l9 against the rear face of the partition member. He will then dispose one of the articles adjacent the rear face of the partition member and beyond the rear face of the sheet as illustrated in Fig. 4. 7

Now by simply exerting pressure upon the article, the latter may be forced through the openings, due to the fact that the tongue l6 will be flexed forwardly. In being thus shifted the article will carry with it a certain area of sheet [9, which will assume the position shown in Fig. 5. Under these circumstances, the sheet will be taut across the zone of the article and will permit a ready viewing thereof. Also the sheet will interlock or frictionally bear against all edge portions of the opening l4, thus preventing any loosening of the article with consequent movement of the article with respect to the partition member.

After the articles are assembled upon the partition member, the latter may be pushed into position within the box body l0. Under these circumstances, those portions of the sheet H which are adjacentthe edges of the partition member will assume positions interposed between the flanges [3 of the latter and the flanges of the box body. Consequently; it is apparent the sheet is held against any possibility of shifting, it being, of course, obvious that any auxiliary retaining means may be employed to insure against movement of the parts with respect to each other. Care should be utilized not to shift the partition member so that the rear faces of the articles contact the base of the box. In this manner; any danger of the articles becoming broken will be reduced to a material extent.

If, under certain circumstances, it is desired to further brace or anchor the article with respect to the partition member, or if it is desired to completely enclose all surfaces of the article, this may readily be done by simply utilizing a sheet of material as indicated at 20 in Fig. 5, which second sheet will lie to the rear of the articles and may be adhesively secured to the outer face of sheet Hi. This sheet may also be formed of Cellophane and, if desired, need not be secure-d other than having its edges clamped between the flanges l3 in the box, or be otherwise secured with respect to the mounting structure. Of course, with the provision of a second sheet, it is feasible to eliminate the tongue structures I6 or their equivalents. According to the preferred aspect of the invention, however, it is intended that these tongues be in each instance utilized.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically aforenoted are achieved. Obviously, changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A package for displaying and supporting articles, the bodies of which present areas of different widths, said package including a partition formed with openings of an effective area less than the maximum area of the articles which they are to individually receive, said articles being disposed upon said partition with the maximum width portions of their bodies in planes beyond the outer face of said partition and with their bodies extending through the openings therein, and a flexible sheet of substantially transparent material applied to the inner face of said partition, said sheet extending through the partition openings and around the maximum Width portions of said articles and beyond the same to provide compartments for said articles and retain the same in association with said partition.

2. A package for displaying and supporting articles, the bodies of which present areas of different widths, said package including a partition formed with openings of an effective area less than the maximum area of the articles which they are to individually receive, said articles being disposed upon said partition with the maximum width portions of their bodies in planes beyond the outer face of said partition and with their bodies extending through the openings therein, a flexible sheet of substantially transparent material applied to the inner face of said partition, said sheet extending through the partition openings and around the maximum width portions of said articles and beyond the same to provide compartments for said articles and retain the same in association with said partition, and a second sheet of flexible material also applied to the inner face of said partition, said second sheet contacting those portions of the article which extend beyond the inner face of the partition and providing in conjunction with said first sheet housings for said articles.

3. A package for displaying and supporting articles, the bodies of which present areas of different width, said package including a partition formed with openings, tongues forming a part of said partition and restricting said openings to an effective area less than the maximum width of the articles, said articles being disposed upon said partition with their maximum Width portions in planes beyond the outer face of said partition and with their bodies supported by the edges of such tongues, and a flexible sheet of substantially transparent material applied to the inner face of said partition, said sheet extending through said openings and between the tongue edges and the articles supported thereby, said sheet moreover projecting around the maximum width portions of said articles and beyond the same to provide compartments for said articles and retain the same in operative association with tion formed with openings, tongues forming a part of said partition and restricting said openings to an eifective area less than the maximum width portions of the articles, said articles being disposed upon said partition with their maximum width portions in planes beyond the outer face of said partition and with their bodies supported by the edges of such tongues, a flexible sheet of substantially transparent material applied to the inner face of said partition, said sheet extending through said openings and between the tongue edges and the articles supported thereby, said sheet moreover projecting around the maximum width portions of said articles and beyond the same to provide compartments for said articles and retain the same in operative association with said partition, and a second sheet of flexible material also applied to the inner face of said partition, said second sheet contacting those portions of the article which extend beyond the inner face of the partition and providing in conjunction with said first sheet housings for said articles.

5. A package for displaying and supporting articles, the bodies of which present areas of different width, said package including a partition formed with openings of an effective area less than the maximum width portions of the articles which they are to individually receive, said articles being disposed upon said partition with their maximum width portions in planes beyond the outer face of said partition and with their bodies extending through the openings therein, a flexible sheet of substantially transparent material applied to the inner face of said 10 partition, said sheet extending through the partion openings and around the maximum width portions of said articles and beyond the same to provide compartments for said articles and retain the same in association with said partition, a receptacle body and cover, and means for mounting said partition within said body and in a position such that said articles are spaced from the inner faces of the cover and the base of said body.

THEODORE S. DOWST. 

